1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ultraviolet (UV) radiation cured, glossy support useful in ink jet recording media. More particularly, the present invention relates to a substrate having a coating comprised of a UV radiation cured, glossy coating. When subjected to corona treatment, the glossy coating in the substrate provides a support layer for aqueous ink jet receiving layers with greatly enhanced adhesion, gloss and thermal processability. The glossy coating also functions excellently with solvent borne coatings without corona treatment, providing excellent adhesion to ink jet media coatings.
2. Description of Related Art
Since the advent of digital photography, the need for media providing photographic quality for ink jet printing applications has risen significantly. Ink jet printing is relatively inexpensive and the imaging can be of photographic quality. The printing resolution is such that, today, it is comparable to silver halide images. Moreover, the total cost of the imaging process, including media, is significantly less. However, the need to develop high quality, inexpensive, digital photographic imaging media for commodity ink jet printing exists.
Currently most of the glossy paper base media which meet this requirement for ink jet receiving layers are of the polyethylene extrusion coated type. These papers normally are comprised of two sided coatings of different molecular weight and density polyethylene. Many of these substrates are limited in gloss value and whiteness, and are costly and sensitive to the thermal processing for subsequent aqueous ink jet layer processing relative to the UV cured chemistry.
The term ink jet-receiving layer refers to the surface or coating on a substrate(paper or film) which receives the ink drops jetting from the printing head of an ink jet printer. Many types of ink jet media are available today (i.e., glossy, matte, canvas, etc.). Today's printing technology affords quality and resolution that yields images that are sharp, colorful and photorealistic. The "new" digital cameras can take images and download them into computers, which in turn can enhance the images and then print the image using ink jet technology on an ink jet glossy media resulting in a photographically realistic reproduction. The desired color image medium must afford silver halide photographic like properties in all its characteristics.
To obtain this photographic like ink jet image, the ink jet media must generally be glossy(&gt;60%@ 20.degree. angle), archivable (non yellowing@3-5 Yr. UV exposure), be water fast (coating does not come off after media exposed to water for 10 min.), must feel (have the hand) of a photograph, and must have excellent adhesion to the substrate. The currently available substrates, which give a high gloss after the coating of the ink jet-receiving layer, must be smooth to yield a glossy appearance. Substrates which have this smoothness are cast coated papers, latex coated papers, subbed polyester films, polyethylene extruded papers, polyethylene extruded/Gelatin subbed papers, and UV or Electron Beam cured coatings on paper.
European Patent Application EP 0 770 493 A1 describes a radiation cured glossy support layer and an ink jet material containing the same. However, many of these substrate surfaces do not meet the gloss requirement of a photograph after the ink jet receiving layers are applied, have poor adhesion to the ink jet receiving layer, are expensive to process, have various coating/drying process limitations, and/or are not archivable (yellowing on light aging 5 years exposure).
The industry is therefore in need of a support which can provide sufficient gloss, have good adhesion to the ink jet receiving layer and has good archival properties for photorealistic ink jet images.